Crystal Cave
by Gryphinwyrm7
Summary: Several members of the Manhattan Clan visit the London Clan on holiday, where Brooklyn provides the final clue needed to find Merlin! Arthur and Griff are finally going to find their Wizard! But a strange woman in New Orleans has other ideas, and will do anything to stop them...
1. Din

**Crystal Cave**

 **New Orleans,**

 **January 3** **rd** **, 1999**

"Come in, come in!" the woman said. "Let Madame Serena show you your future!"

Madame Serena gestured broadly, as the Yuppie Couple from New York Entered her parlor.

"How quaint!" Margot said, excitedly.

"Come on Margot, these fortune-tellers are a just a load of crock," Brendan said.

"Most are," Madame Serena said, chuckling, shuffling an odd looking Tarot Deck. She drew a card off of the top of her deck without looking at it, and tossed it onto the table without looking at it.

 **The Brendan Quarters and Margot Yale**

Brendan and Margot's jaws dropped at the sight of the card.

"But I am not an ordinary Fortune Teller!" she declared.

"I'm going first!" Margot said sitting down across the table from Madame Serena.

"Let your fortune be known," Serena said shuffling the deck. She drew the first card.

 **The Lovers**

"Interesting," Serena said. "And it's reversed." She then flipped the next two cards over.

 **The Hanged Man**

 **The Chariot**

"How very interesting indeed," Serena said. "One more card should determine how these three connect."

She flipped the next card over, and then suddenly went ghostly pale.

 **The Magician**

"That…can't be right," She murmured. She flipped another.

 **The Eight of Cups**

Flip.

 **The Magician**

Flip.

 **The Eight of Cups**

Flip.

 **The Magician**

Flip.

 **The Eight of Cups**

"GET OUT!" Madam suddenly yelled, throwing the Deck onto the table. Every card was the same.

Margot and Brendan panicked and bolted out the doors.

"Come see a fortune teller," Brendan snarked. "It'll be a laugh."

"Give it a rest, Brendan!" Margot snapped.

Madame Serena sat at the table, staring blankly at her crystal ball.

"He's going to escape," she whispered. "After I was so careful…what am I going to do?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Into the Mystic**

 **Soho London**

 **January 5** **th** **, 1999**

The sun touched down on the western horizon of London, sinking below the skyline. There was a rumbling sound and the three statues perched above the shop let out triumphant roars as Leo, Una, and Griff awakened.

Down in the shop below Mandadapu Collins glanced upwards and smiled. She walked over to the sign and flipped it from 'Open' to 'Closed' and set the little plastic clock for 45 minutes, giving the shopkeepers plenty of time to eat.

"Hullo, Mandy!" Griff called out, coming down the stairs and into the main area of the shop.

"Good evening Griff," Mandy winked at the gargoyle. "I brought some of that Tikka Masala that you love so much."

"Mandy, if you were a gargoyle, I'd marry you," Griff said chuckling as he grabbed a paper plate and made his way to the table where Mandy had placed an entire Spread of Indian Takeout.

Leo chuckled as well and joined his friend while Una turned towards the teenager.

"Any messages?"

"A Mister Lennox MacDuff called and said that quote 'he and his friends from Brooklyn arrived a few hours ago, and would be by later this evening' I assume that he didn't know if he could trust me," Mandy said.

"They could be at Knight's Spur now," Una said, turning to go back up the stairs.

"Relax, Una," Griff called out. "Remember that those chaps came all the way from Manhattan to visit us. They're going to be stuck in stone sleep for more than a few hours because of Jet Lag."

"He's right, Love," Leo said. "No need to get worked up yet. Join us for some of this lovely spread that Mandy brought us."

"Your parents don't have to send us free food every night," Una commented dryly.

"Oh yes they do," Mandy said. "You don't know my parents."

Una sighed exasperatedly, before grabbing a paper plate herself, and placing a piece of naan on it.

The phone rang and Mandy immediately picked it up.

"Into The Mystic, open all night for all of your magical needs," Mandy said.

"Um…Hello?" a voice asked nervously. "Is…Griff-sama there?"

"Yes he is," Mandy said brightly.

"Um…May I speak with him? You may tell him it is Sakura of Clan Ishimura," Sakura said nervously.

"S'for you, Griff," Mandy said holding out the phone. Griff raised an eyebrow. "Arthur?"

"Some bird named 'Sakura'?" Mandy replied.

"Oh!" Griff exclaimed and darted over and grabbed the phone.

"Hullo, Sakura? How've you been? Sorry I missed your call the other night. Off with Arthur in Ireland."

"Who in the world could possibly be ringing Griff?" Una wondered.

"Someone named 'Sakura', obviously," Leo said furrowing his brow.

"She said she was from 'Clan Ishimura'," Mandy added helpfully. "She also called last month, when Griff was out of town. Left him a message."

"One of the Jap gargoyles?" Leo wondered.

"I love you guys," Mandy said. "But please don't call them that. It's rude."

"No kidding," Griff said, covering the mouthpiece of the phone. "Yama's scolding was as bad as old Peregrine's back when we were hatchlings. Remember her?"

Griff turned his attention back to the phone. "And then what happened?"

Leo and Una stared at Griff in quiet shock.

"No, I've been there. Literally the same thing happened when I rejoined the clan."

"What? No."

"Wait, she KISSED you?"

"Okay, not EXACTLY the same thing,"

"Well," Leo smirked looking back at his mate. "I'm not sure what I was expecting…but this was definitely a surprise."

Una nodded but watched Griff wistfully.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 5** **th** **, 1999**

Griff, Una, and Leo lazily circled _Knight's Spur,_ before daintily coming in for a landing next to Macbeth's hovercraft, which was parked in a clear spot just next to the estate itself. Standing next to the hovercraft were six stone statues.

If one didn't realize that gargoyles could get jet-lagged, one might not have realized the significance of these statues.

Griff recognized the statues as Brooklyn, Lexington, Nashville, Hudson, Bronx, and Fu-dog. Standing vigil next to the statues were Macbeth and Coldfire.

"Hello again, Una," Coldfire said. "It is an honor and a pleasure to be welcomed into your clan's home once again."

"The honor and pleasure is mine," Una replied, cloaking her wings and bowing slightly at the robot gargoyle.

"How soon will they wake up?" Lunette wondered. A small crowd of curious gargoyles had gathered near the sleeping Manhattan Clan.

"Any moment now, I shouldn't wonder," Macbeth commented. "Based on last time."

"And you're sure that you want to go back with them when they're done here?" Leo asked Staghart.

"Most definitely," the cervine gargoyle replied. "Lex and I…I think there's chemistry there."

"I'm glad to hear it, mate," Griff said placing a talon on Staghart's shoulder and grinning. "I think those Manhattan Chaps are splendid, and bringing our clans closer together is going to be fantastic."

"Yeah, I suppose," Leomaris commented wryly. "But who is going to fix the computer when it breaks?"

"In fairness," Coco said. "Staghart's usually the one who breaks it in the first place. If he didn't keep taking it apart to-,"

Coco's sibling teasing was cut of by a sound like grinding gravel. Cracks began to appear upon the four gargoyles and two beasts.

Everyone fell silent, sucking in deep breaths. Most of the clan had never seen a gargoyle awaken from stone sleep from the outside before.

With a series of roars they awakened.

"Oh UGH!" Nashville commented. "That's jet lag? No thank you…That's awful…"

His words faded when he realized that he had an audience.

"LEX!" Staghart yelled enthusiastically, scooping the smaller gargoyle up into a hug.

"Amp!" Lex replied slightly less enthusiastically due to the very public nature of the embrace.

"I call them LAmp," Coco said as an aside to Leomaris, who chuckled.

"Hullo!" Lunette said, rushing up to Nashville. "You must be Nashville. I'm Lunette!"

"Uh…yeah!" Gnash gulped in surprise. He'd never really met a female gargoyle his age before, and he very much was Brooklyn's biological son. "My nends call me Frash. I MEAN friends call me GNASH!"

"Some of my rookery siblings were going to go play cricket behind the estate. You want to come?"

"YES!" Gnash yelped before catching himself. "Definitely."

Lunette grabbed Gnash's talon and began dragging him away.

Gnash smiled dumbly.

"Gnash, take Bronx and Fu-dog with you," Brooklyn called out. "The London Clan hatchlings haven't ever seen a beast before."

Gnash snapped out of his dazed look long enough to whistle sharply. The two beasts bounded after the pair of young gargoyles.

"Yep," Brooklyn muttered to himself. "Definitely got a lot of me in there, for well or ill."

The gargoyle adjusted his eye-patch, and then turned towards Griff, Leo, and Una.

"Hello Griff," Brooklyn said smiling. "And you must be Una. Thank you for having us. It's a really good thing for Gnash to make some friends his own age."

"Lunette was excited to hear you lot were coming," Griff said. "She loves your clan."

"I can see that," Brooklyn said chuckling.

"But truly," Una said stepping forward and clasping Brooklyn's forearm. "It is an honor to have your clan stay with us, anytime."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

Griff and Arthur stared at the corkboard map of northern Europe, with red push-pins all over it in parts of Northern France, England, Wales as well as bits of Ireland.

"More riddles," Arthur muttered under his breath.

"I apologize that our humble library hasn't been of more help to you, Arthur," Old Pog murmured. "I'm afraid that while it is more thorough than many human libraries, it lacks the information you need."

"We're basically stuck," Griff commented. "We're out of clues, and out of options."

"Merlin where are you, when I need you?" Arthur asked.

"So this is the Clan Library," Brooklyn said, quietly stepping in and looking around. He let out a low whistle. "No wonder Hudson talked it up. Xanatos wishes he had one this good."

"Evening Brooklyn," Arthur said politely.

"Hullo old friend," Pog said chuckling. "Seems you've aged a bit better than I have."

"Time Travel does that for you," Brooklyn frowned, looking around. "Did I come in at a bad time?"

"No, not at all," Griff said quietly. "We've just sussed out all of the places that Merlin isn't, just trying to figure out where he IS."

"If he's still alive," Pog said grimly.

"Nah," Brooklyn said walking over and examining the map. "He's around somewhere. That old bat still had a few centuries left in him."

"Pog, Merlin, Sherlock Holmes," Griff commented to Brooklyn dryly. "Is there any historical figures you don't know personally?"

"Yeah, it drives me nuts that I never met John Augustus Roebling," Brooklyn said. "You guys never checked up by Loch Ness?"

Brooklyn tapped the push pin for the Caledonian Forest, the only pin in Scotland.

Griff and Arthur suddenly exchanged a glance.

"No, why?" Griff asked.

"Merlin never mentioned Loch Ness to me in my lifetime," Arthur said.

Brooklyn looked genuinely surprised.

"I mean…You know he and Saint Columba were tight, right?" Brooklyn said looking back and forth between the pair.

"They used to hang out like, all the time. This isn't even a time-travel thing. I knew some of the old Loch Ness Clan when I grew up at Wyvern. There's tons of lore in Scotland about Merlin hanging out with Columba near Loch Ness."

Arthur suddenly scrambled across the library to the section where the books on Scotland where kept.

Brooklyn looked back and forth between knight and king several times in utter baffled surprise.

"You…You guys really didn't know?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _30 Minutes Later…_

 _"_ Thanks to Brooklyn's information," Arthur said. "We may have a potential lead on Merlin."

A large circle had been drawn on the map around Loch Ness.

"When he and Columba weren't doing…Whatever it is that Saints and Wizards do for a living," Brooklyn said. "They used to hang out with the Loch Ness Clan. Which…To be honest, I doubt they're still around. Constantine III did a pretty good job of wiping out most clans in Scotland. Iona, Scone, nearly all of them fell to him. Loch Ness was common knowledge back in the day. I can't imagine that they didn't get hit."

"Sad," Griff commented.

"But Merlin's Crystal Cave might be hidden within their old Rookery," Brooklyn said quietly, "It was in a series of caverns beneath and around the Loch."

"From what we've been able to piece together from primary and secondary sources," Old Pog said. "After taking Arthur to Avalon, Merlin courted the lady Nimue for a time."

"He was already courting her, as well as training her," Arthur said. "Even before Avalon. Nimue would often serve as court advisor and sorcerer in his stead."

"Then at some point after Arthur went to sleep, for whatever reason, Nimue betrayed Merlin, and imprisoned him within the Cyrstal Cave," Fleur continued. "That happened before the Illuminati Society was founded. Or right around it. Details are sketchy. Nimue is part of the Society, but she's not been active in decades. I've no idea where she is."

"But Merlin's Crystal Cave could very well be in the ruins of the old Loch Ness Clan's rookery," Griff summed up.

"Ruins?" Leomaris asked, frowning. Arthur, Griff, Pog, Fleur, Coco and Brooklyn glanced up to see the leonine gargoyle with aquatic features pushing a trolley full of sandwiches into the room.. "Why would the Loch Ness Clan's rookery be in ruins?"

Coco got up and helped herself to one of the porkbelly sandwiches Liam had brought in."

"Because Constantine III wiped out most of the clans in Scotland," Brooklyn said. "I was there."

"And I'm standing right in front of you?" Liam replied.

"I don't follow?" Brooklyn said.

"Well…You know…After Griff disappeared," Liam said. The green gargoyle flushed slightly. "Leonidas went north to Scotland, to look for Goliath's clan. Not realizing, of course, what we know now."

It was Brooklyn's turn to flush. He shrugged.

"Sorry? Time travel is always messy," he replied.

"Obviously he didn't find them," Liam said. "But when he got near Loch Ness, he did meet a female gargoyle who claimed to be banished from her clan."

"Selkie," Coco commented.

Liam nodded. "He took her back to London and they became mates. And like all the clan here, they had two eggs in the '48 and '68 rookeries."

Liam pointed to himself. "Fourty-Eight," he said. "And Lunette's rookery sister Nix is the Sixty-Eight."

"How did you suss this out?" Coco said. "You were raised as a child of the clan, just like me."

Liam rolled his eyes. "LOOK at me Coco. I'm a bloody fish-lion. WHO ELSE could be my biological parents? I've never brought it up before because frankly Bhors and Leo have been more dad-like than Leonidas ever was. That's the advantage of gargoyle communal parenting. I don't actually CARE who sired me, but I'm not bloody blind either."

"So wait…Back up the truck a second," Brooklyn said frowning.

"There might actually still be Loch Ness Clan…" Griff said.

"We will need Leonidas," Arthur said. "Someone who has been there before. No offense Brooklyn but…"

"Last time I was there was a thousand years ago," Brooklyn said. "I'm out of date."

"He…Might not like that," Liam said, "Ever since Selkie left him…He doesn't like it when someone brings up Loch Ness."

"I…" Fleur hesitated. "I have a good report with Leonidas. I might be able to convince him to come."

"Then we shall leave at sunset tomorrow," Arthur said.

"I'd like to come too," Brooklyn said. "If there really still is another clan of gargoyles left in Scotland…I think that Goliath would want me to reach out to them."

"You are welcome to join us," Arthur said. "And you as well, Leomaris.:"

Liam blinked in surprise. "Me?"

"I know that your ancestry is of little interest or consequence to the gargoyle philosophy," Arthur said. "But still…If you know that one of your biological parents is of Loch Ness, then you are of their bloodline too. Do you not wish to learn more about that side of your family?"

"I…Honestly had never given it any thought before," Liam said. "Can I get back to you, Your Majesty?"

"Of course," Arthur said. "You know when we depart."

"We're close this time, Arthur," Griff said,. "I can just feel it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Madame Serena took a key and opened a sealed box. She dusted off the cards within the box and then picked them up.

The drew three cards and placed them on the table. They had no names, just images. One of the Loch Ness Monster. One of a cave made of crystals, and one of an Atlantean Spear.

"So," she said. "Someone wants to play a game with me? Let's play for keeps."

 _To be continued…_


	2. Dut

**Crystal Cave**

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 5** **th** **, 1999**

Leonidas sat quietly at his work station, picking apart a glock. His gun smithy was set up in a tool shed outside of the primary _Knight's Spur_ mansion. He heard a knock on the door, and quietly removed his welding goggles.

"Come in," he glowered as Fleur entered.

"Hello Leonidas," Fleur said pleasantly.

"No," Leonidas said, turning his attention back to the gun.

"No, what?" Fleur frowned.

"No, I'm not going to guide you and Arthur to Loch Ness," Leonidas said.

"I wasn't going to ask," Fleur said.

"You'll find that secrets are not easy things to keep in this clan," Leonidas commented.

"You'd certainly be welcome to come," Fleur said. "And definitely helpful. But I wasn't actually going to ask."

"Then why are you here?" Leonidas inquired.

"I was going to offer you the chance to come with us," Fleur said. "But as your mind is already made up…"

"Now…Hang about," Leonidas wiped his brow and frowned. "How is that different?"

"Because my way there's no pressure," Fleur said. "It's completely up to you this way, and you aren't letting Arthur and Griff down."

Leonidas's face puckered like he had eaten a sour grape.

"That's a dirty way to play it," Leonidas scowled.

"Which is exactly why I'm not doing it," Fleur admonished.

"What if Selkie is there?" Leonidas asked, his voice quivering slightly.

"What if she is?" Fleur asked.

"What do I say to her?" He wondered. "What do you say when the love of your life just…Leaves you?"

"That's not a question I can answer for you," Fleur said. "Only you can answer that question. The offer is on the table, Leonidas. You may take it or leave it."

Fleur ducked out of Leonidas's shed and suddenly stopped short.

"Hello Queen Blanchefleur," Brooklyn said. "Long time no see."

The Timedancer was leaning up against a willow tree by the banks of the river, a small tributary off of the Thames.

"Longer for me, I'd wager," Fleur said quietly. "For what it is worth, I am sorry about what happened in Venice."

"Water under the bridge," Brooklyn said waving his talon absently. "Literally."

"I know," Fleur said. "But still…What happened was my fault."

"That's why I did it, Queenie," Brooklyn said. "It was the first and so far only time I've done a favor for the Illuminati. I didn't do it because I like them. And I certainly didn't do it because I expected a thank you. I did it because _you_ were the one who asked."

"Me?" Fleur said.

"You," Brooklyn repeated.

"But…I don't deserve that sort of respect, Brooklyn," Fleur said quietly. "And Venice went pear-shaped because of me."

"You're still the only one of the Million Dollar Pyramid Players whom I've ever heard admit that they made a mistake," Brooklyn said. "Puts you in a different category altogether."

"This isn't because you know something about my future, is it?" Fleur wondered. "I think you said something in Venice that…Seemed awfully cryptic at the time."

"Good memory," Brooklyn said. "For something that happened almost 600 years ago."

"Well I don't remember exactly what you said," Fleur admitted.

"No Spoilers, though," Brooklyn said. "You're just going to have to download it from YouTube like everyone else."

"What the hell is you tube?" Fleur wondered.

"You'll find out in a few years," Brooklyn said smirking. "But seriously, Queen Blanchefleur. I never blamed you. Ole One-Eye-Hook-Hand sure, but not you."

"He's a cyborg now," Fleur said, rolling her eyes.

"Totally not surprised," Brooklyn said. Brooklyn hesitated.

"I don't usually do this," Brooklyn said. "Because causality is not something to take lightly. I literally watched a friend of mine wrestle the demons of the mistakes of his past, because Time Travel can get ugly. But what the hell…I'll answer one question for you if you're answer one of mine."

Fleur blinked. The Illuminati had been attempting to capture and interrogate Brooklyn for centuries. They even succeeded in capturing him twice. Once near the beginning of his journey, when he had no useful information, and once near the end of his journey…When he was far too savvy to the Illuminati and their tactics. The opportunity to grill him on the future…was, to pardon the expression, the Holy Grail of the Illuminati's standing orders. Even one question was considered more valuable than all of the Eastcheap Treasury.

"I…Okay," Fleur said. "One for one."

"Is Tamora the Butcher of Wales?" Brooklyn asked.

Fleur's eyes widened. She'd spent enough time with the London Clan that she'd heard Pog mention that title some time back. Pog's late mate had been the last survivor of a massacre of a Welsh Clan of gargoyles sometime in the mid-Eighteen-Hundreds. The Hunters had shattered the clan, just days after a stranger from another clan had threatened them if they didn't abandon their current rookery and protectorate.

"I think that you know the answer to that," Fleur said. "Else you wouldn't be asking."

"Yep," Brooklyn said. "But I want confirmation. I want the truth from the horse's mouth. And you know, for a while I thought it might be Demona. But that didn't quite gell right. But Tam? Yeah, her I could buy. There's a lotta other things I think she _might_ have had a talon in. But this one was the only one I know of where a witness actually saw her. So…was it her?"

Fleur looked away.

"Please don't tell Griff or his clan," Fleur said. "Yes."

Brooklyn looked down angrily. "I won't," He said. "You should."

"My question is this," Fleur said. "Was abandoning the Illuminati the right choice? In the end…Am I backing the right horse? With Arthur really…Make a difference?"

And for the first time since their conversation began, a wide grin appeared on Brooklyn's face.

"Queenie," he said smiling. "I am happy to answer that question to anyone who asks. It's a resounding 'hell yes'."

Fleur released a deep breath that she hadn't realized that she'd been holding.

"Really?"

"What you guys build," Brooklyn said grinning. "It's gonna save the world someday. And I mean that quite literally."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

"Stupid Cricket," Nashville muttered storming down the hall of the 'residential' floor of _Knight's Spur_. In truth it was closer to a locker room. Since the London Clan slept on the parapets outside, each bedroom was lightly furnished and lacked an actual bed. They did each have a fireplace and two large easy chairs though.

The London Clan each had an assigned 'bedroom' where they kept their few personal belongings, and they were allowed to decorate or arrange in any way that they preferred. Two gargoyles shared a room. Griff's room, which had been locked since the 1940s, as neither Una nor Pog had wanted to reassign it, was one of the only two rooms with a bed in it, where King Arthur had been sleeping during his stay with the clan.

A second bed had been set up in Una and Leo's quarters, for Fleur to sleep in, but Fleur had yet to actually occupy said bed, as she often went days without sleep and she had private apartments owned by Sangraal Fashions, her personal company, in London Proper.

"Stupid, STUPID, Cricket," Nashville snarled again, his eyes flickering white. "It's a dumb game anyway. Baseball's way better!"

"Ah-had!" he said, darting into one of the rooms and snatching up the cricket ball from where it landed on the writing desk. He glanced up at the window he shattered when he'd swung the bat Mark McGwire style and winced

Gnash's ears suddenly twitched as he picked up the sound of two voices outside the window and below him.

"Come on Falcor," Lunette pleaded. "He deserves another chance!"

"No, Lunette," Falcor snapped back angrily. "He's weird! Even for a Yank he's weird. Hudson and Lexington and th' two Cybermen-Gargoyles weren't nearly as off-putting as he is. He's always saying weirdly cryptic things about the future. Or about the time he fought the Huns or the Romans or whatever. It's odd! You have to see it!"

"Well of course he's odd, you daft plonker!" Lunette snapped back. "He doesn't have any other gargoyles our age to hang out with! He just needs some mates his own age he can spend time with."

"I don't want to spend time with that tosser," Falcor said. Lunette growled at her rookery brother.

Nashville however, had already realized that they had been talking about him. His lower beak quivered, and he turned and bolted back the way he came from on all fours. Barely holding back the tears.

He bounded down the stairs and ran smack into Coldfire and Una, who had been talking at the bottom of the stairs.

"Nashville," Coldfire said, looking startled. "What's wrong child?"

Gnash had no interest in ratting on Falcor or any of his rookery siblings. Being a snitch would just alienate them further. He handed Coldfire the cricket ball and then darted down the hall towards the common room.

"Nashville!" Coldfire called after him. "I don't know what's gotten into him."

Una's eyes suddenly flickered red. "I think I have an idea."

Coldfire looked at the Unicornesque gargoyle in surprise.

"Don't worry Coldfire," Una said. "Take care of your rookery son."

The metal gargoyle nodded and took off after Gnash.

"And I will take care of mine," Una muttered under her breath before storming towards the rear entrance to _Knight's Spur._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

"Come on lads," Bhors grunted. "Pick up the pace, it's almost dawn. Need I remind you that if we do not get this kitchen broken down before dawn, that it will fester all day, and add to our workload tomorrow night?"

"No!" Liam and his rookery siblings Kent and Alphyn chimed in unison as they collected the remainder of the clan's dishes and loaded them into the industrial dishwasher. Each one glancing furtively at the clock, knowing that the sun would be up in an hour and a half, and wanting to get as much done before they had no choice but to leave and prepare for stone sleep.

Of course a professional maid service attended _Knight's Spur_ every day at noon, cleaning up every room including the kitchens, but Bhors had never shared that information with any of his underlings in the kitchen. He feared they would get lazy.

A pure white boar, at least when his white fur wasn't splotched with this stain or that, with yellowed teeth and a blue outfit similar to Leo's, Bhors ran his kitchen like clockwork, practically living down in them, save when his mate dragged him up to the roof for some sunshine and to "sleep like a proper gargoyle".

"Leomaris," he snarled. Liam stopped, and squeaked.

"I hear I might not have you for the next few nights," he declared.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Can we keep nothing under the radar in this clan?"

Bhors actually let out a deep hearty chuckle at that.

"Exploring your heritage is not a bad thing, Leomaris," Bhors continued. "I may be a hard hand at the grindstone here in the kitchen…But I'm still your rookery father. I want you to grow. I just wanted to know what you wanted done with that jambalaya that you made last week. There's not enough to serve up to the clan, but more than I want to throw out as well. It was rather popular with the younger rookeries."

Liam paused for a moment.

"Do we still have those tortilla shells from Kent's disastrous attempt to make burritos?"

"I GET IT!" Kent yelled. "I'm SORRY! I know it was too much hot sauce!"

" _I_ thought it was too much hot sauce," Liam yelled back. "And I've a high tolerance for spicy food!"

Bhors chuckled again.

"I was a bottle of the bloody stuff!" Alphyn yelled as she finished mopping the floor. "No one needs a whole bloody bottle of Tabasco!"

"I SAID I GET IT!" Kent snapped back.

"We could take those tortillas." Liam said. "Wrap the jambalaya up in them, and those of us heading up to Loch Ness can have them for lunch tomorrow."

"Good plan," Bhors said. "That lot leaves at sunset tomorrow. Sun's up in an hour and 15. Can you get those wraps made in 45 minutes?"

Liam blinked for a moment, realizing what was being asked of him.

"On it, chef!" he yelped scrabbling over to the reach-in fridge and pulling out the tub with the jambalaya, labeled 30-12-98, and the package of soft tortilla shells. He washed his talons, grabbed a scoop and a clean cutting-board and began slathering the Cajun stew onto the wraps and rolling them up, placing them in a large Tupperware container.

"The rest of you are dismissed for the night," Bhors declared, turning and exiting the room.

"Want some help?" Alphyn asked, sliding up next to her rookery brother.

"Three times the talons gets th' work done in a third of the time," Kent said, sidling up to Liam's other side.

The gargoyle grinned at his rookery siblings.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

It was just a few hours before sunset. Macbeth was checking the instruments and clearing out his hovercraft for the additional passengers, though Arthur had been rather vague as to how many were actually coming.

He glanced out the window at the _Knight's Spur_ estate and noticed Arthur approaching his craft.

"Hello Pendragon," Macbeth said, smiling.

"Hail, Macbeth," Arthur said. "I offer my gratitude once more, that you have chosen to help transport us to our destination."

"Ach, it's my pleasure, Pendragon," Macbeth said.

"Still," Arthur said. "It is an imposition. I wonder…Can grant me the name of the…Craftsmen? Who constructed your airship? I should like to purchase one of my own, and thus no longer have to impose upon you for rides in the future."

"I had it constructed by Cyberbiotics a few years back," Macbeth said. "Customized to my own specifications, but I nae sure you can trust that company anymore. Not since Halcyon Renard passed and that rat Vogel took over. That man cannae be trusted."

"Besides," Macbeth said shaking his head. "My harrier jets and hovercraft are a might bit expensive. You may be the Once and Future King, but I was alive and awake these past thousand years. Every couple of centuries my junk becomes antiques which allows me to accumulate quite a bit of wealth over the years. I'm not on Goliath's landlord's level, but…I am well enough off. You on the other hand have been asleep."

"Yes," Arthur admitted. "However, one of the first places that Sir Griff and I sought Merlin was the site where Camelot once stood. It has been largely undisturbed in quite some time. We found that while the treasury room had indeed been raided several centuries earlier, there were a few dozen coins still contained within it."

"With the help of the London Clan and a pair of Archeologists that Detective Maza introduced me to, I was able to have the coins appraised and sold at auction. Fleur helped me set up a…'Swiss' bank account?"

"Ah," Macbeth said. "A very clever solution. So…You're not quite a penniless vagabond anymore."

"Indeed," Arthur said. "The coins were valued quite high. I have…a small fortune at my disposal. I have taken to paying Una reasonable rent, for my room and board. It is only fair. Even a king is not above the laws of the land, after all."

"I'll tell you what, Arthur," Macbeth said quietly. "I'll sell you one of my hovercrafts, for a reasonable price…Under one condition."

"Oh?" Arthur wondered.

"Ye must take me to the site of old Camelot. I would very much like to see that sight with my own eyes."

"As it happens," Arthur said smiling. "I have arranged to take my archeologist friends to that site in March. You would be welcome to join us."

"It would be my honor," Macbeth said. He frowned.

"Aye…Pendragon…Ye ought to take some flying lessons before I sell ye the ship."

"I believe that is a reasonable request," Arthur said, smirking.

"The Once and Future King, flying a hovercraft?" Fleur said joining her fellow monarchs in the back of the craft. "Perish the thought, Arthur. I have a pilot's license…Admittedly from the mid-seventies, but I can get it renewed."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

Shortly after the sun set, Arthur, Macbeth, Fleur, Griff, Brooklyn, Fu-dog, and Liam had all assembled by the hovercraft.

"I made some jambalaya wraps," Laim said, clutching a small cooler. "We can have them for supper later."

"Jolly good show," Griff said, grinning. "That jambalaya from last week was delicious."

There was a swooping sound as Leonidas glided down and landed next to the group. A Xanatos Enterprises S.C.A.R.A.B. Particle Gun strapped to his chest holster and a broadsword attached to his back. He glanced at Brooklyn for the first time since the Scottish gargoyle arrived, and grunted his vague approval at Brooklyn's own arsenal.

"Thank you for coming," Fleur said.

"Let's just get his over with," Leonidas muttered.

"Off we go then," Griff chirped. "Into the wild blue yonder."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **New Orleans,**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

Madame Serena placed two decks of cards directly in front of her. She drew from the top deck and placed the five cards that she picked up face-down in front of her. She then drew from the second deck, a proper tarot deck. She drew one card from it.

 **Temperance**

"A perfect way to put everything back into balance," she said. "Whoever you are…You won't get Merlin. I won't let you. I'll drown you, burn you to the ground, crush you, and suck the air from your lungs first. Let the game begin."

 _To be continued…_


	3. Sey

**Crystal Cave**

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **May 28** **h** **, 565 A.D.**

The mist rose up from the Loch quite swiftly and suddenly. The four figures resting at the edge of the Lake suddenly climbed to their feet. The first was a bearded man dressed in white and gold church vestments. The two other men wore green cloaks and signet rings denoting royalty.

The one woman stood between the two men, wearing a pale blue cloak that matched her eyes, and had long snow-white hair. The mists parted and a bearded man dressed in red leather and riding upon a skiff paddled through the still calm waters using his staff to punt through the water.

"Hail Myrddin," one of the two royals declared, removing his hood. His bald head gleamed in the moonlight. "I thought you said a week?"

"A week in Avalon's time is a good seven months in the outside world, Brother Percival," Merlin replied. "You know that."

"What of Arthur?" the second royal said, stepping forward and pulling back his own cloak. He was a tall man, with a jagged scar over his left eye.

"He remains asleep," Merlin said. "Oberon promised that the Children are forbidden to enter the Hollow Hill. With his mother gone, his word is now Law for the Third Race. Arthur will remain unmolested."

"So you keep saying, wizard," Brother Percival declared. "But I find myself anxious about that. When exactly is he to wake up?"

"The terms of the spell I cast," Merlin said. "Were that Arthur would sleep until he was needed."

"Which is when, exactly?" the scarred man asked.

"According to the signs that I read," the white-haired maiden said, quietly stepping forward. "I have divined that Britain's hour of greatest need shall fall in the Year of Our Lord Two-Thousand One Hundred and Ninety-Eight."

"Good Lord!" the scarred man yelped. "That is over seventeen centuries from now!"

"But no more than 80 years on Avalon," Merlin said, winking at the white-haired maiden. "Especially since Arthur will not age as he slumbers. And your divination skills impress me, Nimue my love. You have been practicing."

"Of course, milord," Nimue said, bowing at Merlin. "How else could we have divined that Avalon would send you here at this time and place."

"Well done indeed!" Merlin said climbing off of the skiff, planting his staff upright in the mud, grabbing Nimue, lifting her up and twirling her around. "Your skills grow every day! And you thought that you had no talent for magic."

"Myrddin my friend," the bearded man dressed in white said. "The Loch Ness Clan leader and I wish to speak with you."

"Oh?" Merlin asked, wandering over to Saint Columba's side.

"She has discovered some ancient ruins underneath the Loch. She doesn't know what they mean or who built theme, but he wants to know what you think of them."

"Color me intrigued, my friend," Merlin said. "I shall see her at once."

The mad wizard and the Christian Saint departed for the fortress of Bridei I, son of Maelchon.

Nimue turned to follow, when Brother Percival reached out and grasped her arm.

"Seventeen Centuries," he said grimly. "And Merlin is part mortal. How can Arthur stand in Britain's hour of need without his wizard?"

"That is the way of life," Nimue said calmly.

"Thanks to the power of the Grail," Brother Percival continued, ignoring her. "I will be there. But Merlin? We need to find a way to ensure he will live to see that day too. I'd offer him Grail Water, but he would refuse."

"For good reason, Percival," Nimue said. "That is the precious Living Water of the Almighty, not some trinket to be handed out on a whim."

"Just think about what we talked about the other day," Percival said. "As immortals, we must always be certain to look at the bigger picture, not just the smaller one."

"As you will, Fisher King," Nimue said curtseying. "I shall consider your words carefully."

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 6** **th** **, 1999 A.D.**

Griff, Brooklyn, Liam, and Leonidas glided over the still quiet waters of the Loch. Each gargoyle was carefully scanning the inky abyss below looking for signs of anything, Loch Ness Monster or Gargoyle below the surface.

"I can't see anything down there," Griff snarled exasperatedly. "Nothing can see through absolute darkness, and those waters might as well be that!"

"What are you talking about?" Liam wondered.

"I'm inclined to agree," Leonidas muttered. "It's like staring into a black hole."

"What are you guys on about?" Liam wondered. "With the light from that waning moon I can see nearly all the way to the bottom? Granted it's mostly fish, but…"

"Wait, what?" Brooklyn asked.

"Of course!" Griff said, gliding up alongside Liam. "The Loch Ness Clan has lived here for thousands of years…They've adapted to be able to see in the near absolute darkness of the Loch, and Liam! You're of their bloodline! Which means you can too!"

"I have always had better night vision than my rookery siblings," Liam admitted. "I didn't realize that there was a specific reason for it."

"Most clans adapt quickly to whatever environment they're thrust into," Brooklyn said quietly. "The Mayan Clan often have serpentine bodies, this allows them to quickly navigate through the thick jungle canopy with ease, squeezing through openings that other gargoyles can't. When Katana and I were in the rainforest in the thirteenth century, we had to lay low and spy on a past version of me, and we found it incredibly hard to navigate, especially in places where the jungle got thick."

"Similarly, the gargoyles of Madagascar were all completely hairless, due to the environmental pressures of carnivorous trees, which liked to latch onto fur and hair. Within generations of arriving on Madagascar, the clans there ended up completely bald. Gargoyles are very adaptive."

"Which explains the aquatic nature of the Loch Ness Clan," Griff commented. "Living in and around the Loch itself with the Loch Ness Monsters…"

"Or LNMs," Liam said.

"They'd adapt quickly.," Griff finished. "I never met Selkie, what did she look like?"

"Beautiful," Leonidas said.

"She had legs," Liam said. "But they were webbed feet. Like a duck or beaver. Her tail and ears looked like mine, obviously. Horns like your friend Coldstone, but less Partially Converted Cyberman, and more, unbroken. Her wings looked like yours, Brooklyn, but the wing fingers were webbed, rather like mine, actually."

Liam wiggled his wing-fingers demonstrably.

"I am the world's weirdest looking Archeopteryx," Liam said. "Feathered wings and webbed wing fingers, I am the full freak package."

"There," Leonidas pointed towards a cove, where Arthur and Fu-dog were waiting for them.

Liam frowned, suddenly noticing something odd in the waters of the cove as they glided closer.

"That cove is where I met Selkie 58 years ago," Leonidas confirmed. "Shortly after sunset, she emerged from the water like…well…Like a selkie from legend."

The four gargoyles came in for a landing near Arthur, as Griff bent down and began petting Fu-dog.

"Macbeth and Fleur are attempting to secure lodgings in the nearby village of Drumnadrochit, Arthur said. "I suspect they may be some time. Innkeepers do not favor customers who arrive at 2 in the morning."

"If we had left at sunrise," Griff commented. "You might have had a better shot. We gargoyles are very low maintenance during the day, you know."

"We shall keep that in mind for future ques-," Arthur started to say, but then stopped. The water in the cove was bubbling like a Jacuzzi.

"Loch Ness Monster?" Liam wondered. Brooklyn adjusted the aim on the Sonic Canon on his shoulder mount.

The water surged into a massive shape like a large vaguely man-shaped beast. A water djinn not unlike the one that the Lady of the Lake had summoned in Central Park a few years back.

Griff didn't hesitate. He simply aimed his Lightning Gun at the base of the Water Djinn and fired. Electricity shot through the creature and the electrolysis caused the magical creature to simply explode and dissipate.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Liam demanded.

"That," Arthur said, exchanging a glance at Grff and Brooklyn.

"That was a guard dog," Griff said, finishing his king's thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **New Orleans,**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

Electricity crackled and the first of Madame Serena's five cards disintegrated. She stared at the artist's impression of the Water Djinn as the card simply burnt itself into ashes in seconds. Serena could smell the ozone in the air.

"What in the world?" she demanded. "Who ARE you?"

She drew the first card off of the tarot deck.

 **The Knight of Cups**

"I have no idea who this is," Serena said out loud. She knew that the 'King of Cups' card would always pop up to represent Duval whenever she divined for him or the other Illuminati, but the 'Knight of Cups' was a completely new draw in this situation. At first she wasn't sure what to make of it, but then the sapphire on her ring pulsed slightly with magical energy.

"It doesn't matter," she said, flipping over the second card, this one identical to the first one, but this time with an image of a fiery creature upon it. The touched the Temperance card to the image of the Fire Djinn, and the two cards began to glow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

Nashville quietly played chess against Old Pog in the common room.

"There a reason you're playing chess against an old fart like me, and not playing cricket with the other hatchlings?"

"Cricket's a dumb game," Gnash said. "Baseball's better."

"Typical Yank," Pog said rolling his eyes.

"I'm also Japanese," Gnash said. "And we Japanese LOVE baseball."

"I think they're playing a game of football later," Amp commented. "That's soccer to you Yanks-slash-Japanese."

"No," Gnash said moving his Rook.. "I'd rather stay in. Check."

Pog quietly moved his bishop in front of his king, blocking Gnash's Rook.

"I think that Lunette, Nix, Cornelia, and Bouc were going to watch some telly in the basement later," Pog said. "I know that they'd love it if you'd join them."

"Still not really interested, Check," Gnash said.

"How about a wager then," Pog asked. "If I win this game, you go find those girls and spend some time with them?"

"What's in it for me?" Gnash asked.

"The company of pretty females, of course," Pog said. "I was quite the ladies-man in my youth, you know."

"I mean what do I get if I win?" Gnash demanded. "What with you being in Check and all."

"The satisfaction of victory won't do it for you?" Pog asked.

"No," Gnash said.

"Fine," Pog said, moving his queen so that she blocked the king. "I'll tell you a secret about the London Clan that no one else knows."

"Deal, Check." Gnash said, moving the rook and taking the queen.

Pog quietly moved his bishop, taking the rook. "Checkmate."

Gnash's eyes widened as he scanned the board.

"Wait…How long was that bishop there?"

"Since my third turn," Pog said quietly.

"I…uh…YOU SET ME UP!"

"You're not going to welch on our bet, are you?" Pog asked.

"No," Gnash grumbled, storming out of the room.

"I will never doubt you again, Pog," Amp said quietly.

"This old bird still knows a thing or two," Pog commented quietly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 6** **th** **, 1999 A.D.**

Fu-dog pawed at the ground, sniffing it and then turning in a circle and pawing at it again.

"He definitely smells something interesting," Brooklyn said. "A rookery perhaps? Other beasts or gargoyles. Something directly under us."

"I think a saw an underwater cave entrance in the cove," Liam said. "I was about to say something before the Liquidator back there appeared."

Arthur approached the water's edge with a torch and pointed the beam down into the water.

"I think he's right," Arthur said. "I think I see…A stairway?"

"That's definitely what I saw," Liam replied.

"Even if they've adapted for the water," Brooklyn reasoned. "The Loch Ness Clan still need to breath air. There's probably a cave filled with air down there. Possibly right below us."

"If that's the case," Leonidas glanced down at the water. "We can probably make a swim for it."

"Um…" Liam said. "I'm not a very strong swimmer."

One by one, Arthur, Griff, Brooklyn, and Leonidas turned and stared at Liam.

"Look, I know it sounds weird, given how I look," Liam said. "But my wings are still feathered, and wet feathers are awful!"

"That's true," Griff and Leonidas both chimed in.

"We must try," Arthur said. "We're too close to Merlin. I can practically hear his voice now."

"All right, I'll try," Liam said, swishing his tail anxiously.

"We should stick my particle gun and your lightning gun in Liam's cooler," Leonidas commented. "It's water-tight, and I'd rather they not get wet and short out on us."

"Good thinking," Griff said. Liam unsealed his cooler and the two gargoyles placed their weapons inside on top of his jambalaya wraps. The two gargoyles glance back at Brooklyn.

"My stuff's waterproof," Brooklyn said. "No chance of it shorting out."

The four gargoyles and lone human waded out into he water, Fu-dog rapidly followed on Brooklyn's heels. They took a deep breath and dove down.

Griff swam up to Liam's side, and grabbed his arm, gently tugging it, and helping the younger gargoyle move through the water. Though it was an awkward time of it regardless. Gargoyles were not, primarily, built for the water.

They had to awkwardly flap their wings underwater to move forward, pushing them around but not quickly or very far. Despite his protest to the contrary, Liam was having the easiest time of it.

Their eyes all flickered white underwater, sucking in as much light as they could, the cave entrance Liam's sharper eyes had only glimpsed before was now clearly visible to the group of gargoyles, but not Arthur, who swam around awkwardly looking for it.

Brooklyn swam up to Arthur's side and began guiding him towards the cave. The other gargoyles followed suit. The tunnel was wide and obvious, with no obsticals blocking their path.

It finally opened up into a large cavern, with a massive bubble of air inside. The gargoyles and human all surged towards the air, and gasped as the broke the surface.

The air bubble was actually a large cave, about the size of a football pitch. There was a darkened archway at the far end of the room, with two lit braziers on either said of the arch.

The gargoyles and human surged out of the water.

"Atlantean!" Arthur exclaimed, looking at the wall.

"Yup," Brooklyn confirmed.

"I recognize it from the studies Merlin made me do when I was younger," Arthur continued. "Though admittedly, I can't remember most of it…I do recognize this word:"

Arthur tapped on the symbol on the wall.

" _Gorlois,_ " Arthur said. "Atlantean for 'Gargoyle'."

"Curious," Griff wondered. "I wonder if—"

At that moment two things happened at once. The first was what caused Griff to fall silent. Two gargoyles quietly stepped out of the dark archway. They appeared to have been casually strolling towards this particular underwater exit-room, because they seemed equally surprised to see Brooklyn, Liam, Griff, Arthur, Leonidas, and Fu-Dog as they were to see them.

The first was a female Liam's age with blue-green skin. She had a horse-like head like Una's, but with fan-like ears like that of Coldstone, Broadway, or Liam. She had long seaweed-green hair and webbed talons and feet. Her wings were a massive pair of manta-ray like wings that reminded Griff of Yama's wings, and her tail curled behind her like a seahorse. She wore a halter-top and kilt-like skirt.

The second was a male gargoyle Goliath's age, with dark aqua-colored skin, similar webbed talons and feet, similar manta-like wings. a dolphin-like tail and a dark red kilt.

"Who the devil are you?" the female demanded in a very thick Scottish brogue.

The second thing to occurred at that moment was the flames from the braziers suddenly expanded in size, as though some outside force was fueling their flames. The fires suddenly twisted around one another, rapidly swirling together and forming a massive beast made from flames in the same basic shape as that of the water djinn.

It was a fire djinn. It let out a massive bellow, and lunged towards the gargoyles, all seven of which scattered as it did.

This of course served to further enrage the beast. It's flames went from orange to white hot, and everyone standing in the room recoiled towards the ice-cold black waters that were the entrance to the cavern.

Each of them could feel the intense heat from the creature, slowly searing their skin and burning their hearts with fear.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_


	4. Kut

**Crystal Cave**

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 7** **th** **, 1999 A.D.**

The fire djinn roared, sending waves of heat off its body. Griff, Brooklyn, Leonidas, and Arthur involuntarily stepped back from the heat. Griff raised a wing to shield Arthur from the heat.

The creature surged towards the two Loch Ness Gargoyles. Who immediately yelped attempting to dive out of the way. The fire djinn turned and looked at the female, raising its arm and surging forward.

"Oi!" Liam yelled, splashing his tail against the water. The fire djinn ignored him. "OI! I'M GONNA WAKE UP MERLIN!"

The fire djinn immediately turned around and surged towards Liam.

"OH BUGGER THAT!" Liam yelped, diving into the water just as the djinn almost reached him. He poked his head out of the water, and the fire djinn swiped at his head.

"Eep," he squeaked and ducked again.

The female Loch Ness Gargoyle took advantage of the distraction and scrabbled across the cavern and into the water. She grabbed a whistle from around her neck and blew on it.

"Hey ugly!" Griff called out, trying to gain the fire djinn's attention. It ignored him completely continuing to swipe at Liam every time he came up for air.

The water suddenly surged and a massive Loch Ness Monster head rose out of the cove, splashing water everywhere. The fire djinn fizzled out of existence as the wave splashed over it.

"What a good girl you are," the female Loch Ness gargoyle said, stroking the muzzle of the massive aquatic reptile.

"Thanks," Liam gulped as Arthur and Leonidas helped him out of the water.

"Thank you," she replied, climbing out of the water herself. "Your quick thinking saved me life."

"Now if it's not too much trouble," the male Loch Ness Gargoyle said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Griff, of the London Clan," Griff said stepping forward. "This is Leonidas, and Leomaris, also of London. This is Brooklyn and Fu-Dog of the Manhattan Clan."

"S'up?" Brooklyn commented.

"And this is King Arthur, returned," Griff said. Arthur stepped forward and gave a courtly bow.

"London," the female marveled.

"And Manhattan," the male said completing her thought. "As I live and breath…I dinnae even know that there were other clans still about. We thought we were th' last.'

"Well that's not true though," the female commented. "Not really. I mean-,"

"Hush lass," the male said, cutting her off. "It's not meant for mixed company."

"He _saved my life!_ " she yelled, gesturing emphatically at Liam.

"And why did the fire creature appear in the first place?" the male demanded, looking over their visitors suspiciously.

"Yeah," Liam said, rubbing the back of his head. "That's probably our fault."

"Aye," the male said. "Time you met the elder."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **New Orleans,**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

"NOOOO!" Madame Serena yelped, as the second card featuring the fire djinn suddenly became water-logged and then dissolved.

She wrinkled her brow and then let out a heavy sigh.

"Perhaps summoning a fire elemental near the largest lake in Scotland was not my smartest move," she admitted to herself.

She flipped over the next two cards and tapped them both in rapid succession with her 'Temperance' card.

"Let's see how you deal with a double trouble tag team," she chuckled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 7** **th** **, 1999**

As _Knight's Spur_ was an older manor house, the lowest level, the basement, was the kitchens, where Bhors spent most of his time with a rotating crew from the '08, '28, and '48 rookeries, preparing food for the rest of the clan. The kitchens had been refurbished several times over the last 200 or so years, the most recent refurbishment was in 1991.

A series of dumbwaiters would transport food up to the dining hall on the main level, and originally, the area of the basement not occupied by the kitchen and storage area was occupied with a servant's dining area.

The London Clan, of course, had never employed servants even when such practices were common in England, as it was too great a security risk. Even the maid service that they employed in the present; an extremely discrete and private service was under strict order to have vacated the premises hours before sunset.

So the servants dining area was instead converted into a small cafeteria-like lounge. A fair deal more comfortable than the old servant's quarters would have been anyway.

It was this lounge area where Lunette, Nix, Cornelia, and Bouc had set themselves up a series of beanbag chairs and were currently marathoning episodes of _Doctor Who_.

All four gargoyles were from Lunette's generation: Bouc being a young male gray, goat-like gargoyle. Corneilia was a black furred gargoyle resembling Una or Lunette save for the fact that she had two horns sticking out of her forehead rather than one. Nix resembled a black panther with dark fur, webbed ears and manta-ray like wings and a fish like tail, much liker her biological older brother Liam.

Gnash begrudgingly trudged into the room. Cornelia glanced over and gently nudged Lunette. Who let out a squeak upon seeing him. Bouc quickly paused the VCR.

"Ace, give me some of that Nitro-Nine you're not carrying," The Doctor said just as Bouc paused the screen.

"Gnash!" Lunette said running over and hugging the young gargoyle. Gnash found himself furiously blushing again. What was it about this female that sent the blood rushing to his face every time he spent time with her?

"I didn't think you were going to come!" She said, sounding genuinely delighted. "I mean I asked Old Pog to invite you, but I didn't think…I mean…After what Falcor said…"

"Falcor's an arsehole," Cornelia piped up. "In case it helps you to figure stuff out."

"We all think so," Bouc sdded.

"I'm fine," Gnash said, glancing at the paused screen, and frowning. "Is…Is that Classic Doctor Who? I love Doctor Who."

"Really!" Lunette squeaked. "I didn't think you Yanks liked it all that much! Who's your favorite Doctor?!"

"Hang on," Bouc asked. "Aintchoo a time traveler yourself?"

"Well, that's why I like it," Gnash admitted. "I find the premise relatable. It was kind of how I grew up. Brooklyn hates it for that same reason. 'Too Close to Home' he says. But I saw a dude who was doing the same stuff we were, and I dug it. Okay, I never met any actual _aliens_ but the helping out here and there whenever history goes dark…That was the first eighteen years of my life."

"That's so cool!" Lunette squealed.

"As to my favorite Doctor, well, I mean everyone says 'Tom Baker' or 'David Tennant' because obviously. And of course Jodie Whittaker really set the stage for some of the cool stuff that….that…Oh crap…"

"WHO IS DAVID TENNANT?" Cornelia squeaked.

"Jodie Whittaker?" Bouc asked cocking his head to the side.

Gnash slowly began backing away from Lunette and her rookery siblings.

"I did it again," he muttered. "I said future things and weirded you guys out…I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry!" Lunette said clamping onto Gnash's arm and preventing him from scampering off. "You just told us that our favorite show is coming back in the future. That's AMAZING. We didn't think we'd ever see the Doctor again after that Yank movie crashed and burned."

"When does it come back?" Cornelia asked.

"The new series starts up in 2005 I think," Gnash said shyly.

"And David Tennant?" Bouc asked.

"Tenth Doctor," Gnash said more confidently. "Jodie Whittaker is the Thirteenth…Sort of…She is the first, but not the last woman to take up the Sonic."

"Not the last? I thought Time Lords only had Twelve Regenerations!" Lunette said.

"Well as River Song would say…'Spoilers'," Gnash grinned as Lunette dragged him over to a beanbag chair.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 7** **th** **, 1999 A.D.**

Griff noted right off the bat that despite the apparent age of the tunnels, i.e. _very_ old, that the florescent lights dangling from the ceiling were decidedly _not_ very old at all.

"So…Kelpie?" Liam inquired of the female Loch Ness gargoyle. "What did you mean when you said that your clan did know about others?"

"Kelpie?" she asked, cocking head slightly to the said and giving him an odd look.

"I…It's because you look like a…Well a Kelpie," Liam said. "I just figured it was something to call you."

"I noticed you lot all had names," 'Kelpie' replied.

"And your clan's a bit more traditional in that regard, I take it," Griff commented.

"What need have we got for names?" she asked. "I've never understood the appeal."

"It's better than saying, 'Oi you over there, with th' face! Get your mitts off the steaks until they done," Liam countered.

"Fine," she said smirking. "I'll be Kelpie if you like. But only because you saved me life."

"And threatened it in the first place," the grumpy male commented from the front of the line.

"Kelpie it is," Liam said.

The group then emerged into a massive room, lined with computers all hooked up to a massive server. Several other gargoyles, all with similar aquatic adaptations like Kelpie and the Male Loch Ness Gargoyle wandered about the room.

Most had manta-ray like wings, clearly capable of gliding, but better designed for swimming. Most had webbed talon and feet. And a few didn't even have feet, just slightly elongated fish-like tails that they slithered about on like snakes.

"I was not expecting this," Leonidas commented. "I figured they'd be…"

"A little less NASA and a little more traditional gargoyle in caves standing guard over a rookery," Brooklyn said dryly.

"Yes, that," Leonidas replied.

"Me too," Brooklyn said.

"Our protectorate," the male said as Kelpie wandered over to a monitor and because examining the screen. "Is the great beasts of the Loch. And we use whatever tools necessary to keep them safe. Saint Columba himself blessed the beasties and helped us set up our rookery in these tunnels. We've worked hard to protect the beasties and watch over them as our own rookery."

"You know that the Loch Ness Monsters are a massive tourist trap for the locals, right?" Griff comment.

"Of course, boyo," The Male said, smirking at him. "How d'ya think that we pay for all this fancy equipment?"

"Wait…What?" Griff said.

"The local city officials, as well as several of the boat tour guides and fisherman know the secret of the Loch, and have ways of contacting us," Kelpie explained. "It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. We get a cut of their profits, allowing us to get all this fancy tech, like underwater motion sensors and laptop networks to monitor the Loch. In exchange, we let one of the beasties get 'seen' every so often to drive up tourism."

"That is AMAZING," Liam said. "Our clan runs a shop in the heart of London. We approve of your use of capitalism."

"They can contact you?" Leonidas asked, curiously looking at Kelpie as she tinkered with one of the computer servers.

"These days it's mostly e-mail," Kelpie replied. "Back when we started setting this arrangement up; it was a bit trickier."

"Trickier and more delectate," a new voice declared. He slithered over from another entrance to the computer room. If not for his giant manta-like wings, Brooklyn might have mistaken him for a giant Eel.

He was dark yellow, with black and green stripes down his back. Muscular webbed arms, and manta-like wings on his back, but no feet. He wore a belt of pouches around his waist, and a single glowing spiky crystal dangled around his neck, like a tiny star.

Brooklyn and Griff immediately exchanged a glance.

"Is that what I think it is?" Griff whispered.

"If you think it's Atlantean Orichalcum Crystal," Brooklyn replied quietly.

"Arranging everything that we could with the human villagers, while remaining secret and anonymous has not been easy," Eel-Face said, glaring at Brooklyn. "And I'll not have your mistress ruin it by catching wind of it. We've done quite well for ourselves without her, thank you."

The London and Manhattan gargoyles all exchanged a baffled look.

"Mistress?" Brooklyn asked in confusion.

"Dinnae play dumb with me," the Eel-like gargoyle said. "I was but a hatchling when Constantine started his campaign to destroy us all, but I am ne'er going to forget it either, Gargoyle of the Sword."

Brooklyn recoiled. "That was a thousand and two years ago!"

"Aye," the Eel-like gargoyle smirked. "And not one of those thousand years has passed where I haven't spent it keeping my clan safe. Safe from Constantine. Safe from the Hunters. And especially safe from that harpy of the night. Demona."

There was a collective silence that fell over the gargoyles.

"You're a thousand years old?" Leonidas asked dumbly.

"Orichalcum crystal," Brooklyn said, gesturing towards the Eel-like gargoyle's neck. "Keeps you young and healthy. Though possibly at the price of your sanity it would seem."

"I thought Orichalcum was beneficial and regenerative," Griff wondered.

"It is, usually," Brooklyn said. "But I once saw it transform a gargoyle into a corpse-eating lizard god, so it's definitely an 'in the right hands' kinda thing."

"Elder," the younger male who had led them into the computer room commented. "I take your advise under consideration, however I am the leader of this clan, not you. I'll decide if this lot are dangerous or not."

"That is The Gargoyle of the Sword!" The Loch Elder snapped, pointing at Brooklyn. "A known ally of Demona!"

"Sometimes, ally," Brooklyn corrected. "I don't deny that I'm the Gargoyle of the Sword, for what that's worth. And I don't deny allying with Demona when necessary. _When necessary._ I've been her enemy just as often. Peking in the 1400s. Nazi Germany in the 1940s. Manhattan in the last five years. Enemies, all the way."

"Nazi Germany?" Griff's eyes flickered white and he turned and looked at Brooklyn.

"Yeah, Demona and the Nazis did some nasty stuff together," Brooklyn said.

"You consider Demona an enemy?" The Elder laughed. "I find that dubious."

"Saved my life," Kelpie said, gesturing at Liam again.

"But you admit that it was endangered because you came here," the Loch Leader commented.

"True," Arthur said, stepping forward and speaking for the first time. "I seek my friend and mentor, Merlin. The creature that assaulted us was a guardian of some sort, designed to stop us."

The Eel-like Elder and the short blue leader looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Merlin?" The Leader asked, still laughing. "Th' Wizard? You'll not find him here. Not in some 1400 years I'd wager."

Arthur visibly drooped.

"You have Atlantean Crystal, Orichalcum by name, hanging around your neck," Griff said. "Where did you get it?"

"Our clan's home is an old Altantean Research Outpost and Orichalcum mine," The Elder replied. "The tunnels snake everywhere throughout the loch. Some are facilities that even we don't enter anymore, the chambers are too unstable. Throughout the cavern you're likely to find a crystal or two if you look hard enough."

"The one you call Kelpie even sussed out how to use the crystals to generate electricity for this here operation center," the Loch Leader said.

Kelpie blushed. "T'was nothing. Energy be energy no matter what. It was just a matter of adapting the power cell converters to the crystals to allow the safe transference of electrical energy. Anyone can do it if they know how."

"Dear Lord don't ever let her meet Staghart or Lexington," Liam said. "They will never stop talking."

"Well it got me to thinking," Griff said. "I was a powerful sorceress who wanted to keep Merlin trapped but alive…locking him up in a cave made of regenerating crystal would be just the way to do it, don't you think?"

"The stories do say he's locked in a 'Crystal Cave'," Arthur said. "But the type of crystal was not specified."

"Are you saying…Merlin has been under our clan's noses for fifteen hundred years and we never knew?" the Loch Elder demanded.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Griff said grinning.

The Elder's face suddenly went white as a ghost. "In me own backyard…."

"I think you lot are on the Level," the Leader said with finality. "King Arthur. It'd be my pleasure to escort you to the old Orichalcum Mine. The World's Largest chunk of Orichalcum rests at the bottom of the mine. And it might just actually be the crystal cave ye seek."

"Sir Griff, Brooklyn," Arthur nodded at his friends. "I believe that I could use your assistance here."

"The rest of you might like to get to know our clan a bit," the Loch Leader said, gesturing to the rest of the computer room. The London Gargoyles only then just realized that the gargoyles occupying the room had been staring at them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Loch Leader lead Arthur, Griff, Brooklyn, and Fu-dog down a long, barely lit corridor. No electric lighting here. The tunnel then opened up into a massive cavern, with a giant glowing crystal in the center of it.

Scattered about were various stone figures, mostly eroded by time, in the shapes of fish, crustaceans, cephalopods and stranger creatures that Brooklyn thought that he recognized from his Dances to Atlantis, but he wasn't sure.

The Giant Crystal itself was the size of _Into the Mystic,_ and Griff whistled in appreciation.

"This here is the largest chunk of Orichalcum in th' world," the Loch Leader said. "Or so Merlin himself told us, some 1500 years ago. We've never really gone out and checked it against the others. If there are even any others."

"That stuff is rare," Brooklyn said. "I've seen it a handful of times over my own travels. Guatemala, Opar, Hawaii, and Atlantis itself. The first three are dead dry now. You wouldn't be able to find a speck of it there. Atlantis it was ridiculously common. Benny just about freaked out because there were people giving the stuff away like it was marbles. But according to him it was because they mined the rest of the world dry."

"They missed a spot," Griff said gesturing towards the large crystal.

"Or it formed after Atlantis sank," Brooklyn said. "It's supposed to be crystallized magic. Well…The Magic has to crystallize in order for it to do that."

"Instead of speculating," Arthur said. "Perhaps we should see if Merlin is really in there. I'm certain he could settle the debate."

As soon as Arthur spoke, the cave shuddered, and suddenly the soft earth began forming into a massive monster much like the water and fire djinn, this time comprised of warm wet soil.

A whipping, whistling sound suddenly flowed past the group, kicking up dust from all over the cavern. Griff and Arthur could barely make out the shape of the Air Djinn, as the Earth Djinn started towards the pair.

Griff reached for his belt, and then froze.

"Liam's still got my Lightning Gun," he paled.

Arthur nodded grimly and drew Excalibur.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_


	5. Sha

**Crystal Cave**

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **May 30th, 565 A.D.**

Merlin lay on the banks of the Loch, his head resting upon Nimue's lap, as she gently strummed a small harp. A hand-made fishing pole stuck out of the ground next to them, dipping into the water. A female gargoyle with eel-like features rested in stone sleep nearby.

"The Salmon of Wisdom," Merlin explained lazily. "Is not truly a magical creature. Ordinary salmon hatch within the grotto on Avalon, and eat the enchanted hazelnuts that fall from the trees into the water. The salmon grow up on enchanted food in enchanted waters, and so the magic affects them of course. Then when they reach adulthood, they depart for the sea, leaving through the rivers and creeks. Like any living thing departing Avalon, they are sent where they're needed."

"But after a few years, the Salmon are ready to spawn. Like all salmon, they have an innate drive to return to the place of their birth. In this case…Avalon. Fish can't cast incantations, of course. But they find their way anyway. It's the smell. The Salmon can smell the scent of Avalon's magicks, and are drawn to it."

"So since you were just in Avalon," Nimue commented lightly, still strumming her harp. "You figure that it might be drawn to you?"

"And you were raised there, my dear," Merlin said. "Forget not that."

"My love," Nimue said, a slight tone of concern in her voice. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Anything for you, my sweet," Merlin said.

"Tell me about Ascension rituals," she said quietly.

"To become an Avatar," Merlin said. "A true Avatar, you must merge your—"

"Not that kind of Ascension ritual, dearest," Nimue said. "The other kind."

Merlin said upright and gave Nimue a funny look.

"My dear Nimue," he said. "You are human. You cannot ascend in that manner."

"No, but you could," Nimue said, putting down the harp. "You are the son of Oberon himself. But your human half—"

"My human half is a part of me," Merlin said. "I am human. I prefer it that way. I consider myself human, not one of my Father's subjects, and thus not bound by his laws."

"But to be human is to be Mortal," Nimue pleaded. "What if you don't live to see Arthur's return?"

"What if I don't?" Merlin replied flippantly. "Arthur doesn't need a daft old wizard like me."

"I think Camlann proves otherwise," Nimue said.

"To lose my human half, burn it away like parchment paper would be to lose a part of myself I could ne'er reclaim," Merlin said. "I'd lose all of my powers of Mortal Magic, and more importantly, I would loose sight of the truly important things in life. You. Arthur, Columba, the Loch Ness Clan, and who knows what else."

"But mortality has it's own price," Nimue replied. "You risk you life every day. You age. You could die…"

"My dear Nimue," Merlin said. "I don't fear death. As Columba would say, it has no sting. You cannot truly live if there isn't the prospect of dying someday. I treasure each moment walking upon this earth. When it ends, it ends. Nothing you or I can do will ever change that."

There was silence between the pair for a long moment.

"Could a Halfling be forced to Ascend?" Nimue wondered.

"I doubt it," Merlin answered without considering the implications of her question. "Wanting to Ascend is a part of the ritual, after all. Mind you I can count successful Ascensions in the history of the Third Race on one Hand. Gilgamesh. Sun Wukong. Heracles. I can't think of any others. Almost all of the others have died in the attempt."

"Do you fear that you would die, like the others, if you attempted it?" Nimue asked. "Out of Academic Curiosity."

"No my dear," Merlin said. "Because I would never attempt it. Ever."

"You've caught something," Nimue said. Merlin turned his attention towards the fishing line. Immediately he lunged and grabbed it, attempting to haul in a fish as large as an ox.

Nimue stared at a pair of rings in her hand, iron bans with sapphires inlaid in the settings in the shape of a snake. Together they formed a sideways 8. An Orobouros.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 7** **th** **, 1999 A.D.**

"I thought I recognized you!" the Eel-Faced Elder of the Loch Ness Clan said accusatorily glaring at Leonidas. "Ye were here sixty years ago."

"Yes," Leonidas said hesitantly "I was."

Eel-Face growled, his eyes flickering white.

"One of me Rookery Daughters thought we should speak with you. Befrrrriend you," he said, rolling the 'R' in 'befriend' quite emphatically. "I wanted nothing to do with ye. I was suspicious that you were some kinda trap that Demona had set to lure us out. But me daughter insisted. The leader back then listened to reason better than this one does."

"Paranoid much," Liam commented dryly.

"We told my daughter that if she spoke with ye, it meant banishment. Forever. She still went out to see ye. I've no idea what got into that lass's head."

"I...was the reason Selkie was banished," Leonidas said, staggering back and clutching his chest as though the Elder had shot him. In a way, he had. "So…She's not here then? She never came back."

"Are ye some kind of daft idiot?" the Elder asked, turning his fishy-head sideways. "Forever means forever. Banished from the clan to never come back."

"Banished because of me," Leonidas murmured. "She must have subconsciously resented me for years. No wonder she left me."

The older leonine gargoyle's face solidified into a scowl, and he stormed over to a corner to wallow.

"You look a bit different than the rest of your lot," Kelpie commented, causing Leomaris to jump slightly.

"You noticed that did you?" Liam said, swishing his fish-like tail back and forth. "The one he banished," Liam pointed at the Eel-like elder. "And that one," Liam pointed at Leonidas. "Became mates."

"Six months and ten years later," Liam said. "Ta-da."

"Ah," Kelpie said, smirking. "So you're of our kin too then? Hatched in '58?"

"Yup," Liam said.

"Guess that would make us, rookery siblings then? Kinda? Sorta?" Kelpie said.

"Maybe more like…Rookery Cousins?" Liam speculated.

"Rookery Cousins," Kelpie replied enthusiastically. "I like that."

"Maybe Rookery Kissing Cousins?" Liam suggested.

"Sorry boyo," Kelpie said patting him on the head. "I'm awfully fond of ya fer saving me life, but yiur not me type."

"What, dashing and daring, courageous and caring, and a pretty darn cook to boot?" Liam asked, smirking.

"Male," Kelpie replied.

Liam blinked in silence for a full twenty seconds as that sank in.

"Ah," he said. "Can't really help that."

"I know," she said. "It's not your fault. But I cannae help what I like, and it isn't you."

"I understand," Liam said.

"I dinnae suppose any of yiur rookery sisters fancy sisters?" Kelpie asked.

"'Fraid not," Liam said glumly. "My rookery brother Staghart fancies males, and is th' only one in our clan like that. He recently found out one of the Manhattan Clan fancies him too, and he's moving there next weekend. He always says he's damned lucky to have found Lexington."

Kelpie sighed wistfully. "Aye. I can relate."

"No sisters who fancy sisters here?" Liam asked.

"Nah, two, actually," Kelpie said. "Problem is they fancied each other and not me."

"I know the feeling," Liam said. "My rookery had two more males than females. Staghart's got Lexington now, and that leaves me the odd-gargoyle out, it would seem."

"Ain't we a pair," Kelpie said. "Don't suppose any of them Manhattan gargoyles…"

"Three females, all happily mated to males, according to Staghart," Liam said. "I already asked."

"Good cook you say?" Kelpie said, looking Liam over appraisingly. Liam reached into his cooler and pulled out a jambalaya wrap, tossing it to Kelpie. She took a bite.

"Mmmm…." She murmured. "Maybe I ought to rethink me stance on males after all."

"London and Manhattan might not have anyone for us," Liam said. "But we could always try one of the other clans."

"Other clans?" Kelpie said.

"Other clans," the Eel-like elder echoed.

"Manhattan's got a sister-clan on the mystical isle of Avalon," Liam said ticking off his fingers. "There's a small one in Guatemala. There's a big one in Japan. And Brooklyn says his beast came from a fair big one in China."

"Give me your clan's e-mail address, Cousin," Kelpie said. "Or better yet. I'm coming back with ye lot. Clearly our isolation is costing us."

"Now wait a moment," the Elder snapped.

"Shove a sock in it, Slithers," Kelpie said. He began sputtering angrily. She turned and smirked at Liam. "What's he gonna do? Banish me like yiur mum? I'm already leaving."

She smacked Liam in the back of the head. "And you better show me how you make these tasties. Because I am definitely going to use yiur cooking to get us some girls. That's my promise to you Cuz."

"Heh," Liam half-heartedly chuckled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 7** **th** **, 1999**

"Now I want you to go in there, Falcor," Una said. "I want you to find Nashville, and I want you to apologize to him."

"Yes mum," Falcor said, his beak hanging low.

The young griffin-like gargoyle trudged into the cafeteria where Cornelia, Nix, and Bouc were watching _Doctor Who._

"Where is Nashville?" Falcor asked begrudgingly.

Nix shrugged while Bouc made an 'I dunno' grunting noise.

"Come on, I'm supposed to apologize to him," Falcor said.

"I'm pretty sure he and Lunette ran off somewhere," Cornelia said absently. "Wanted to talk more about future episodes of Doctor Who or something. Oh that's right, you don't like it when Gnash talks about the future."

"They…Went off together?" Falcor said, looking upset.

"Yep," Cornelia replied.

"Why is she paying so much attention to him!?" Falcor said.

"Probably because she fancies him, obviously," Bouc said. Falcor paled.

"But…But I fancied her first," Falcor said abashedly.

Bouc, Nix and Cornelia exchanged a glance and let out an "Ooooh".

"I'm afraid that's not how it works, kiddo," Amp said strolling into the room with Lexington. "Can't really help who you fancy."

Lex chuckled as Amp gently nudged his ridges.

"But you can help how you treat your rookery siblings," Lexington said.

"Looks like Lunette and Gnash fancy each other," Amp said. "Maybe that'll go somewhere, maybe it won't. You're all quite young yet. Plenty of time for feelings to change. Coco fancied five different males in the span of a year when she was your age."

"What's important," Lexington said. "Is that you respect Nashville and Lunette's choices, and don't fight over each other. You're still siblings and trust me, fighting over someone like they're just an object or a prize to be won…Usually only gets them mad at you. I learned that one the hard way."

"Why don't you watch Doctor Who with us until they come back?" Cornelia asked Falcor. The falconesque gargoyle hesitated for a moment, but then joined Cornelia on the beanbag next to her.

"You two are going to be excellent rookery parents," Una beamed at Amp and Lex as they slipped away from the group. The two gargoyles blushed, but intertwined their talons.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 7** **th** **, 1999 A.D.**

Griff leapt upon the back of the Earth Djinn, clawing at the clumps of soil and tossing them aside, only for the holes to reform.

Arthur slashed at its arm, slicing it clean off with Excalibur. The detached part became a lump of soil. The Earth Djinn stuck its remaining arm into the soil and absorbed it, reforming the arm.

Brooklyn, Fu-dog, and the Loch Leader were busy attempting to wrangle the Air Djinn. Barely visible, Brooklyn fired blasts at it with his Sonic Canon, attempting to disrupt it, but having no real effect.

Fu-dog attempted to snarl and slash at it it, but his claws simply went right through.

"This tactic isn't working," the Loch Leader yelled exasperatedly, attempting to stab it with a rusty Atlantean Spear he'd found lying on the ground. "We need another plan, or this creature is going to suffocate us."

"These two do seem a bit harder than the first two," Griff admitted from atop the Earth Djinn.

"Perhaps we should think as Merlin would," Arthur said. "How did we defeat the first two? Specifically I mean?"

"The Lightning Gun shredded the Water Djinn," Griff said. "Because Electricity separates Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen. And water puts out fire, so that's what offed the Fire Djinn."

"So what are the elements that would defeat Air and Earth?" Arthur asked.

"Each other, I guess!" Brooklyn yelled, firing at the Air Djinn again.

Griff and Arthur glanced at each other, and immediately knew what the other was thinking.

"Coming your Majesty!" Griff yelled, leaping off the Earth Djinn's back and entering a low glide. He snatched Arthur up and banked towards the Air Djinn. The Earth Djinn surged after them.

Brooklyn and the Loch Leader held their ground until the last moment, and then dove out of the way, just as Griff and Arthur landed practically on top of them. The two Djinn slammed into each other.

The Earth Djinn shredded apart as the Air Djinn dissipated into nothing, leaving massive piles of dirt all over the cavern as well as the three gargoyles, beast, and human.

"I shall require a shower if I ever make it back to the hotel room that Fleur and Macbeth were attempting to secure," Arthur said, brushing himself off.

"That move," Brooklyn said, shaking his head and clicking his beak. "Forty Years of Timedancing and the one constant…That move keeps working."

Griff chuckled and slapped Brooklyn's shoulder.

"I think a well placed shot from my Sonic Canon should crack that egg," Brooklyn said.

"Then by all means, Brooklyn," Arthur said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **New Orleans,**

 **January 6** **th** **, 1999**

"Whoever you are," Madame Serena said. "You drove me to this."

She flipped over the final card, and tapped it with the Temperance card.

"Quintessence!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **June 6th, 565 A.D.**

Merlin and Nimue quietly entered the Orichalcum Mine.

"What is it you wished to show me, my love?" Merlin asked.

"Quintessence!" Nimue declared, walking up to the giant Orichalcum Crystal and touching it. An archway appeared within the crystal.

"You…Manipulated the structure of the Crystal!" Merlin said. "That's very advanced sorcery! I'm very impressed my dove!"

"You shouldn't be," Nimue said. "It's easy enough for you to do."

"For me, yes," Merlin said. "But for you…You've hollowed the inside out? That's incredible."

" _Quod tibi mea, nec caro mea, potentia tua flux_ ," Nimue declared. The sapphire gem on her ring began to glow, and blue energy began flowing from the ring on Merlin's index finger into Nimue's ring.

Merlin let out a cry of pain and agony, collapsing to his knees. "Wh…WHY?"

Nimue looked at the wizard contemptuously as he tried to steady himself with his staff.

"I wanted your power, you old bat," Nimue said. "I finally had my chance to seize it when you accepted my ring. Cold Iron and enchanted sapphire."

She kicked Merlin in the chest, and the old wizard stumbled backwards into the entrance she had carved into the Crystal.

"Quintessence!" Nimue declared, touching the crystal again. The opening closed, the last thing Nimue saw was Merlin's look of despair as he struggled to use his staff to stand up again.

"It's kind this way, Emrys," she said. "Trust me."

"Water," Nimue said, placing a small silver cup in front of the giant crystal formation.

"Fire!" she declared, placing a small straw that was lit on fire.

"Earth," she said, dropping a clump of soil onto the ground.

"Air!" she said.

"Guardians Unite!" She said.

"Quintessence," she said, placing a small Orichalcum Crystal in the center of the circle of elements he had made. Energy began spiking out of the crystal, and arching into each element. The water seemed to evaporate, the fire appeared to fizzle out, the ground absorbed the soil.

The small crystal shuddered and pulsed; changing shape into a small spiky star.

Nimue turned and walked out of the chambers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 7** **th** **, 1999 A.D**

The Eel-like Elder of the Loch Ness Clan continued to eye Leonidas and Liam suspiciously, attempting to eavesdrop on Liam and Kelpie's conversation. The Elder was completely oblivious to the fact that the Crystal around his neck was beginning to sparkle and glow.

 _ **To Be Concluded…**_


	6. Luk

**Crystal Cave**

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **April 17** **th** **, 1030 A.D.**

The Eel-like gargoyle slithered into Orichalcum Crystal mine antechamber. Most of the Clan hated it in there, finding the whole 'remnants of a lost civilization' vibe to be creepy and unsettling. The Eel-like gargoyle however found it calming and relaxing.

The silence was the only place he could go to get away from the crowd sometimes.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed suddenly, having slithered over something sharp half-buried in the soil. He bent down and examined it. A spiky star-shaped shard of the larger crystal. There was nothing unusual about that. The crystals could be found everywhere in the cavern. But this one was different somehow. The shape appealed to him on a more visceral level than the others.

He took a leather chord from a belt-pouch and tied it around the Orichalcum star, and then hung it around his neck like a necklace. It glowed slightly as he did so, and a nearby puddle of water rippled, a nearby torch flickered, the ground shook every so slightly, and a cold wind blew through the chamber.

The Eel-like gargoyle grinned to himself and slithered out, oblivious to the sparks of electric energy that arced from point to point on the crystal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 7** **th** **, 1999 A.D.**

Brooklyn adjusted the settings on his sonic canon, and took aim at the large crystal.

"Ready, aim, fire?" Griff offered helpfully.

Brooklyn looked up and gave Griff a rather un-amused look. "Really?"

"You don't have any depth perception," Griff noted suddenly. "How exactly do you aim?"

"The same way I land when gliding," Brooklyn replied. "Very carefully. Plus the canon is able to compensate somewhat. It is technology that hasn't been invented yet."

"Can we please?" Arthur asked, looking at the crystal anxiously.

Brooklyn took aim again and fired. The gun emitted a low hum as it struck the crystal. A lattice of cracks appeared in a semicircle about 11 feet wide. The cracks shuddered, and then shattered apart.

Brooklyn shouldered the weapon again and the three gargoyles and one human approached the crystal cave as the dust settled. Clearly visible within the cavern was a large four-poster bed, a rocking chair, what appeared to be a bookshelf and small library, and a fireplace.

An emaciated, skinny bearded figure dressed in red leather stared at them from the rocking chair. Gripping his staff he stood up, and began hobbling towards the wall. He touched the crystal and suddenly seemed to get a little more pep in his step as magical energy flowed into him, nourishing his body.

"Merlin," Arthur whispered, happily, tears flowing from his eyes. "My mentor, at last, it has been too long."

"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING HERE, WART?" Merlin yelled angrily.

Arthur stepped back in surprise.

"I don't know what I was expecting," Griff murmured. "But that wasn't it."

"Merlin," Arthur started to say. "My friend and teacher…"

"Don't you 'friend and teacher' me, Wart," Merlin snapped, charging towards him. "I demand to know what you're doing here. By my count you're still a good two hundred years early!"

"That is true," Arthur started.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Merlin demanded. "By awakening early you may have doomed England and all of mankind! Do you have any idea what is coming in two hundred years!?"

"No," Arthur admitted.

"No," Griff echoed.

"Yep," Brooklyn said.

Merlin spun and looked at Brooklyn.

"Yo Wizard," Brooklyn said. "Haven't seen you since…the war with Mab, I think? From your point of view anyway."

"What the bloody hell are you doing here, Brooklyn?" Merlin demanded. "I refuse to believe that the Phoenix thinks you're needed in the bottom of a cave in Loch Ness with Arthur awake TWO HUNDRED YEARS EARLY."

"This isn't a Dance, Merlin," Brooklyn said. "We're actually in my own time period. I ain't the big birdie's puppet anymore."

Brooklyn delicately fingered the pouch hanging around his belt as he said that.

"If you think that the Dance is over, you're more naïve than I thought, Timedancer," Merlin said. "Fate doesn't just let you go when…"

Merlin staggered, his cheeks becoming sallow and sunken and his belly becoming thin again. He immediately reached over and leaned against the crystal cave. Magical energy flowed into him again.

"Also you lot coming to rescue me was pointless," Merlin snapped. "Nimue has me trapped here."

He held up his right index finger, revealing an iron ring with a sapphire stone inlaid in the setting.

"Her parasite spell drains me of magical energy and life-force every few minutes. If not for the crystals, keeping me alive, I would be dead."

Griff stepped forward and examined the ring. "You can't just take it off?" he wondered.

"Oh take it off! Gee, in fifteen hundred years it never occurred to me to just take the bloody thing OFF," Merlin snapped. "Who is this daft gargoyle? Of course I can't take it off. The magic in the iron prevents me using Third Race sorcery to remove it, and the magic in the sapphire prevents me from using Mortal Magic to remove it."

Griff looked at Arthur.

"So far, your majesty, Merlin does not live up to the hype," Griff said.

"Actually," Arthur admitted, "He's much as I remember him. And Merlin, this is Sir Griff, the first of my knights for this new age."

"You're one of Arthur's knights, are you gargoyle?" Merlin demanded. "I'm not all that impressed myself."

Annoyed, Griff grabbed Merlin's right hand, wedging his thumb and foretalon underneath the sapphire, he squeezed, popping the gemstone out of the ring and snatching it up.

"Can you remove it now?" Griff asked.

Merlin blinked, staring at his hand. Very quietly he murmured something in Latin under his breath and the ring slid off. He tossed it aside.

"All right, Arthur," Merlin said. "I can admit when I make a mistake. Good choice of Knight."

Arthur smiled, and pulled his teacher into a hug as Griff smirked. There was a light crackling sound, and the scent of Ozone began to fill the cavern.

"You did defeat all five guardians, right?" Merlin demanded suddenly.

"Five?" Arthur and Griff asked in unison, slowly stepping back and taking battle stances.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Eel-like Loch Ness Elder wrinkled his beak, trying to suss out the source of that ozone-like smell. He immediately suspected the intruders.

"Which one of you two is responsible for that awful smell," he demanded of Liam and Leonidas.

"Sod off you old sot," Kelpie replied.

"I think it's…you?" Leonidas said suddenly looking up at the Elder.

"What do you think yo-," He stopped short, as an arc of electrical energy shot from one of the nearby computer monitors and into his crystal.

"What?" he whispered. Another arc shot out from a different computer. Then another.

Kelpie immediately ran to a red telephone on the wall and picked it up. "This is Monitoring Station Eight! We have an emergency. Shut down the network immediately!"

"What is happening!?" the Elder demanded, when electrical energy suddenly shot from all of the computers and into the Elder's crystal.

"Help!" he managed to yelp before becoming drowned out by the crackling sound of electricity. Volts of glowing electricity formed around the Elder and began to assume the form of a massive energy monster.

A Djinn made completely of electrical energy.

The Quintessence Djinn.

It let out a roar and surged down the tunnel that Brooklyn, Griff, Arthur, Fu-dog, and the Loch Leader had gone down an hour before.

"I have Griff's gun!" Liam exclaimed in horror. In a heartbeat he shot down the tunnel after the creature. Leonidas and Kelpie hot on his heels.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Quintessence Djinn burst into the cavern with a massive roar. Immediately tendrils of electrical energy shot from the giant Orichalcum Crystal into the Djinn, causing it to begin expanding in size.

Brooklyn took aim with his sonic canon and fired. The Energy Creature rippled slightly, but it had no discernable effect.

"We can't fight that thing!" Griff yelled as it raised its arms and fired off blasts of electrical energy at the gargoyles and humans in the cavern. Immediately Brooklyn, Fu-dog and the Loch Ness Leader ducked down behind a stone fish. Merlin, Griff, and Arthur ducked into the archway of the Crystal Cave and took shelter behind the wall.

"Merlin, you're the greatest wizard of all time!" Griff said. "How do we fight that thing?!"

"I've no idea," Merlin said. "The Quintessence Djinn is a creature of pure magic. Literally, composed of the quintessential energy of living things."

"Bio-Electricity," Griff said. "I know what Quintessence is. My clan runs a magic shop."

"They…do?" Merlin looked at Griff in surprise. "I should very much like to meet your clan."

"They'd love to meet you too, if we survive this," Griff said.

"I can do nothing," Merlin admitted. "Nimue has sucked me dry for centuries. And I mean bone dry. It will take me years to reclaim even a fraction of my original powers. Even if I absorbed all of the magic in this crystal, I doubt it would do anything more than restore my shape shifting abilities.

"You said that ring was a parasite spell?" Griff said, pulling the sapphire out of his pocket.

"Yes," Merlin said. "Feeding my magic directly into Nimue."

"Your majesty, I have a crazy plan," Griff said.

"I have never known you to have any other kind, Sir Griff," Arthur said smiling. "I take it you need me?"

"Remember that town in Wales with the ridiculously long name?" Griff asked grinning. "And the giant snail we fought there?

"Ah, the Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch maneuver," Arthur said.

"Oh please let's not call it that, sire," Griff said. "We'll die of old age before we can say it twice."

"As you will, Sir Griff," Arthur said, drawing the sheath of Excalibur, and sinking the blade into a nearby rock. The Once and Future king leapt out of the cave with a cry. The Quintessence Djinn immediately fired at him. Arthur held up his scabbard and blocked the attack with it. The energy flowed into the scabbard and was completely absorbed.

Griff dove out of the cave and rushed over to where Merlin had tossed the iron ring. He immediately reunited the two pieces of the enchanted ring that had enslaved Merlin for 14 centuries.

He glanced up and frowned in terror. "Oh bugger."

Griff had been counting on Arthur serving as a distraction while he grabbed the ring. But the Djinn noticed him. And there was no cover.

The energy creature raised its arm to snuff Griff out.

" _Mystical Crystals hear my plea!"_ Merlin's voice declared. " _And fill me with your Energy!"_

There was a massive burst of light and the giant crystal chunk suddenly began withering, shrinking, and with a massive slurping sound, it shrank into Merlin's staff. The wizard smirked as a blue glow surrounded him.

"Come and get me," he said. The wizard suddenly transformed into a massive stag and darted forward.

The Quintessence Djinn completely forgot Griff and lunged at the stag. Seconds before the blast would have hit him; he glowed blue and transformed into a Eurasian Eagle Owl, flying upwards and away from the blast.

Griff loped forward on all fours and right up to the djinn. Taking the ring in hand, he shoved it into the massive electrical creature. There was a shudder, and then the creature screamed as the electrical energy all began flowing into the ring.

It evaporated in seconds, and the Eel-like Elder tumbled down from the creature, falling to his hands and gasping desperately for breath. His spiky Orichalcum Crystal crumbled into dust.

"Thank you," he said hesitantly as Griff helped him up. "Truly…Perhaps I misjudged you clan."

"That creature must have hit me an' I died,' Kelpie said. "If you're admitting that you are in the wrong."

"I can be…rather stubborn sometimes, I admit," the Elder said. "But if you wish to return with these gargoyle to their clan. You'll get no objections from me."

"Now that is a rare blessing indeed," the Loch Leader declared, climbing out from behind his hiding place.

The Eagle Owl lazily drifted down to Arthur's side, glowing blue he transformed back into Merlin.

"I rather do like your Knight, Arthur," Merlin said. He turned and looked at Brooklyn. "I take it that Arthur is not going to be there in two hundred years."

"Trust me," Brooklyn said. "This way is better. I promise."

Merlin smiled half-heartedly, when suddenly his stomach let out a very loud gurgle.

"Apologies," Merlin said, blushing in embarrassment. "I've not eaten food in some fourteen centuries."

Liam casually walked over to Merlin and pulled out a jambalaya wrap, handing it to the wizard. He blinked in surprise at the gargoyle casually handing him food, and then took a bite.

"Sir Griff," he said. "I think I adore your clan."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **New Orleans,**

 **January 7** **th** **, 1999**

Madame Serena let out a yelp as her iron ring exploded from the overload of magical energy. The pieces scattered all over her table, knocking over the top card of the topmost deck, the one she had drawn the Djinn Cards, as well as the Atlantean Spear, and Loch Ness Monster cards from.

The Quintessence Djinn card evaporated.

"Who are you people," she demanded, picking up the card that she'd knocked off of the deck.

She dropped the card in shock. It fluttered to the ground, an image of King Arthur Pendragon upon it.

"No…it isn't possible!" she said. "He cannot be awake!"

She drew a card from her proper tarot deck.

 **The King of Swords**

She bolted across the room to her phone, hanging on the wall. She rapidly began dialing a number.

"Sixteen," she said when she heard someone answer on the other end. "Duval…Is Arthur awake?"

Madame Serena's face paled.

"Then he's just found Merlin…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Knight's Spur Country Estate**

 **January 9** **th** **, 1999**

"I thought I said to keep her away from those two?" Liam exclaimed in exasperation as Kelpie talked animatedly with Amp and Lexington on the roof of Knight's Spur.

"I'm afraid we've lost her, mate," Griff said, placing a hand on Liam's shoulder. "Sorry."

"All in all though," Brooklyn said, climbing up onto a parapet. "I think that this was a pretty successful trip. We've found the Last Clan in Scotland, and Demona has no idea. And we've started up an inter-clan exchange. Kelpie here, Amp in Manhattan?"

"Who?" Liam asked.

"He means Staghart," Griff said.

"The future's never looked brighter," Brooklyn said. "And coming from me, that's money you can take to the bank."

Griff leapt up onto a parapet, taking a kneeling position. Liam leapt up beside him and flared his wings. Kelpie tackled Liam from behind and gave her favorite rookery cousin a noogie before leaping onto a parapet herself, Lex and Amp right behind her.

The dawn broke and the gargoyles froze in stone.

"I never do get tired of that," Merlin said to Arthur.

"So, Arthur," Fleur inquired as the three humans made their way indoors. "Now that you've found your wizard. What next?"

"We must do something about Duval," Arthur said grimly. "We cannot allow what he has been doing to continue."

"Music to my ears…" Fleur said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Loch Ness, Scotland**

 **Jan 9** **th** **, 1999 A.D.**

The Eel-like Elder surged out of the water, slithering towards a massive manor home by the edge of the Loch. He slithered right up to the door, and fished a key out of the pouches hanging from his belt.

He opened the door and slithered right into the den, casually moving a chess piece on an old, circular chessboard.

An older woman with three scratches over her left eye glanced up from her book _Gargoyles in Celtic Legend_ in surprise.

"I wasn't expecting you this evening, my friend," Fiona Canmore said, looking surprised.

"I'm afraid it is not a social call this time," Eel said. Fiona nodded and pressed a remote. A screen lowered down from a painting of Jackson Canmore over her fireplace mantle. An image of the All Seeing Eye over a Pyramid appeared briefly, but was then replaced by the visage of a beautiful gray-skinned gargoyle.

"My old fiend!" she exclaimed.

"Seventeen," the Eel-Like Gargoyle said.

"Seventeen," Fiona echoed.

"Four," Tamora replied.

"I...I'm afraid I've broken protocol," Eel said. "I know that the standing orders are to keep the clans isolated so that you can control the flow of information between them. But it is difficult to do so when they show up at my doorstep, and then proceed to save my life. And I didn't even know that there _was_ a clan in London."

Tamora's eyes widened, and she smiled. "Oh my friend! You do not know it, but you have solved a problem I've been grappling with for months now!"

"I have?" the Loch Elder said.

"We didn't even know about the London Clan until last year," she said. "And because of our late timing, we've had no way of monitoring and connecting with them. No sphere of influence at all. And given their recent alliances, I was afraid we would never have any whatsoever! But if they have found you and your clan…"

"Then my old friend," the Elder said. "I will encourage and nourish the relationship between the two clans!"

"Excellent!" Tamora said excitedly. "I cannot wait to tell Duval!"

"Before you do," the Elder said. "You ought to hear the whole story, there is much, much more…"

 _ **Never the end…**_


	7. End Credits

With the voice talents of

 **Neil Dickson- Griff**

 **Rhona Mitra- Fleur**

 **John St. Ryan- King Arthur Pendragon**

 **Sarah Douglas- Una**

 **Gregg Berger- Leo**

 **Andrew Lee-Potts- Liam/Leomaris**

 **Alan Cumming- Staghart, Falcor**

 **Zoë Wanamaker- Constance**

 **Jonathan Hyde- Leonidas**

 **Arthur Darvill- Kent**

 **Naomi Scott- Mandy**

 **Cristina Vee- Sakura**

 **Thom Adcox- Lexington**

 **Jeff Bennett- Brooklyn, Bouc,**

 **Yuri Lowenthal- Gnash**

 **Gordon Ramsay- Bhors**

 **David Tennant- Loch Leader, Sir Bors**

 **Sylvester McCoy- Loch Elder, The Doctor**

 **Karen Gillan- Kelpie**

 **David Bradley- Old Pog**

 **Peter Capaldi- Merlin**

 **Georgie Henley- Lunette**

 **Christel Khalil- Cornelia**

 **Hannah Spearritt- Alphyn**

 **Marina Sirtis- Margot Yale**

 **Pat Fraley- Brendan Quarters**

 **Brother Percival- Jude Law**

 **Stana Katic- Tamora the Goth**

 **Sheena Easton- Fiona Canmore**

 **Kate Higgins - Madame Serena/Nimue**

 **C.C.H Pounder – Coldfire**

 **John Rhys Davies- Macbeth, Saint Columba**

 **Dee Bradley Baker- Fu-Dog, Fire Djinn, Air Djinn**

 **Frank Welker- Bronx, Loch Ness Monster, Water Djinn, Earth Djinn, Quintessence Djinn**

 **A Special Thanks to Algernon who served as beta, and Todd Jenson who asked the tough questions in his reviews.**

 **Gargoyles is property of the Walt Disney Corporation**

 **W.I.T.C.H. is also property of the Walt Disney Corporation. I have no reason for saying this, I just felt like covering certain bases.**

 **Doctor Who does not appear courtesy of the BBC, because this is a fanfiction, but if it wasn't it would.**

 **Does anyone even read the end credits? I doubt it.**

 **Liam/Leomaris Cover Artwork by Kordyne on Deviant Art, she is good. Buy a Commission from her!**

 **Check out the latest fics from Masterdramon; Hawaiki, also part of the Age of Gargoyles continuity.**

 **Check out the latest fics from Algernon84: Bad Blood, also part of the Age of Gargoyles Continuity**

 **Check out the latest fics from GregX: Wavering Eyes, Also part of the Age of Gargoyles Continuity.**


End file.
